a dark alleyway

i don't often think about old town pasadena as a dark place, but this image turned out almost frighteningly bleak.  the wet pavement, the dim lighting, and even the old red brick exterior made this image appear to be from some other town entirely.

intelligentsia pasadena

i'm way behind on this one - many local bloggers have already visited and given their two cents on pasadena's new upscale coffee destination (here, here, here, here, here, here, and here).  but high end coffee just doesn't excite me too much.

then i heard that they partnered with my favorite local brewery to make a coffee laced belgian beer known as "stimulus".  uh oh.  i guess that meant it was time to head to old town.

i made the trip and checked it out.  intelligentsia is a trendy place to grab a bite to eat or your favorite beverage (the beer was spectacular by the way).  a bit upscale, this place reminded me of a cool coffee shop in a college town - except in pasadena, it becomes a sneaky way to serve well made quality items at premium prices.

it is certainly one of the coolest places in old town to hang out - and the fact that they serve great beer just made them that much cooler.

hanging out at jameson brown

some friends invited me to a coffee shop show last night at jameson brown - a local pasadena coffee roaster who is starting to reshape their venue to do things like host musical talent. andrew goldring put on a great performance with his own guitar-based music. i'm sure he has a future in the business - keep your ears and eyes open. oh, and the beverages were delicious.

photo request #9: fuller bookstore and coffee by the books

life observer, over at the wonderful cafe pasadena requested that i take a picture of the fuller bookstore and coffee shop. unlike other campus bookstores, they have yet to fully "sell out" and are still considered an independent bookstore rather than one run by efollet or something else. i'm pretty proud of my school for remaining strong in this regard.

coffee by the books is also pretty outstanding. located behind the bookstore, they serve fair trade coffee and other tasty goodies. really a fantastic alternative to the many starbucks in town.